Tom Law

Saratoga Race Course’s exceptional atmosphere and high-class racing places it on a pedestal, reserved only for the finest racetracks in the country. That reputation draws not only several of the most superlative horses from across the nation, but numerous top trainers and jockeys. As the 2015 racing season springs opens there are plenty of familiar names among the trainer and jockey rosters along with a handful of new ones.

Put away the countdown clocks, stop checking the calendar and put in for that vacation time if you haven’t done it already. It’s time for Saratoga, 2015 edition.

Approximately 1,510 miles after leaving Fargo, I have arrived in Saratoga Springs.

English Channel and Harlan’s Holiday each sired a pair of weekend stakes winners and the latest good ones from Yes It’s True and Birdstone are products of quickly emerging crosses.

I love traveling, but I’m sorry to admit that I have a severe bedbug paranoia when it comes to staying in hotels. After a particularly unfortunate encounter with bed bugs on a previous trip, my mom and I have become amateur bed bug hunters. No matter what scale of hotel we happen to be staying at, our nights start with ripping the sheets from the mattress and scanning every nook and cranny of the bed for bedbug poop. Yes, you heard that right, folks.

Today involved driving, trees, driving, a giant bridge, driving and even more trees. If you haven’t already figured it out, Michigan has a lot of trees.

I also learned a very important lesson: feeding seagulls is a bad idea.

But I’ll get to that in a moment.

(Editor’s Note: ST Publishing has hired interns and seasonal writers from all over the country for The Saratoga Special since its launch in 2001. They’ve come from all over and from all backgrounds, with designs on doing some writing or editing and getting some exposure to and learning more about racing. We hired Quint Kessenich from the lacrosse net at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, Pete Fornatale from the streets of New York, Katie Bo Williams from the hills of Virginia, Gabby Gaudet from the Bowie Track Kitchen, several Darley Flying Starters and scores of others from New York to Louisiana and Kentucky to Florida.

In the North American 3-year-old division there is American Pharoah and everyone else. Two of the other ones were on display at Belmont Park over the 4th of July holiday weekend and both happen to be sons of Speightstown.